We are off riding from Vancouver BC Canada to Panama in January and February 2008

The dates are set, the bikes are bought, the boss’s – both employer and wives- have consented to the trip. Now we are trying to ship the bikes to Phoenix Arizona for the second week in January to save us 2500 miles of possibly very poor weather.

Does anyone know of a decent shipping company who can ship 4 bikes from Vancouver BC to Phoenix for a reasonable amount? Most of the quotes are between $800 to $1000 per bike, crated or not !! From what I see here I could air freight the bikes to Europe for that amount.

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

Kevan

My advice would be, make absolutely sure of the delivery date of the bikes and where you pick them up in Phoenix, if you ship, especially if you ship by truck. (unless you hitch a ride on the same truck) Your bikes will also be crossing an international border, just as you will be doing into Mexico and each Central American country you ride.

There can be unexpected delays of any international shipments for reasons, impossible to predict. Avoid any possiblility of having to spend time waiting for your bikes in Phoenix. Phoenix is still very warm right now and impossible without wheels...I own a ranch in Flagstaff, AZ. in the mountains, but I have moved to Buenos Aires.

If it was me, I would ride my bike to Phoenix, doing the 2,500 miles on good roads and figure out if I needed additional gear/toos/parts before entering Mexico. And who knows, you might have some great adventures along the way... don't forget to do an oil change and any maintenance before crossing into Mexico, especially on new bikes....call a bike shop in Phoenix, for maintenance, and make a reservation two weeks in advance.

Shipping the bikes from Phoenix to home sounds ok, unless you use the bikes to get to work, delays are unimportant...


Can't tell if you are seasoned riders or not, but if you are on a schedule, you will probably be riding some bad weather in Central America, so a little bad weather riding experience won't hurt either. Southern Mexico will be windy. Consider Argentina for your next trip. xfiltrate

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Dirtpig, My last post to you suggested riding down to Phoenix. That would very much depend on any prevailing winter conditions on route selected. I do not know what conditions Vancouver to US border might be, Seattle might be wet, and unless you have mild conditions forcasted, shipping could very well be the smart choice for January departure.

Maybe you could hug the coast of California all the way south, might be fog, and then slide over to Mexicali border crossing into Mexico. Conditions in northern Arizona could be "bad" in January, on the other hand storms there come and go with mild weather in between. Very unpredictable, so keeping out of the higher elevations would be good. Flagstaff is 7,000 ft elevation and the stretch of interstate between Kingman and Flagstaff might have ice in January.

Sorry about my neglectful reasoning. I somehow, missed dates of travel and thought you were leaving now... My mistake, sorry xfiltrate

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Motorcycle Parking Buenos Aires, Argentina
www.xfiltrate.com
Discover how to legally Buy, Tour and Sell a motorcycle in Argentina

No worries. Thanks for the input.

The ride is planned for this January with the idea of leaving the bikes in Panama City and possibly flying down picking them up and continuing south from there the next year. If we do when we hit Argentina I will call to meet for a coffee

DP

That does seem a bit high as I used to dispath trucks from Calgary to the US. Just do a search out of Seattle, and ride/haul your bike down there. There should be no problem finding reefer trucks going south out of Van. reefers generally have a harder time getting decent freight south, and Nogalis/AZ is a popular destination. Keep looking, LTL guys tend to want a little more, as there is better $$ in putting together an LTL load.

Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Transportation Inc. These guys haul bikes exclusively and do a good job. The trailers are set up for bikes so no roping it up to the side of a van. I have ridden from Washington state to mexico in january and did the coast route. Good rain gear and electric underwear. Once you get into northern california the weather is usaly pretty nice. And if you hit some storms along the oregon coast it can be very scenic. Also check into getting across the border into the US and checking out the Uhaul situation. Drive down with your bikes with you, small truck and trailer depending how many bikes and people are going. Two guys can drive a small truck to sunny southern arizona in a weekend.